From StefanK: 28mm AWI British Infantry, Viking Bondi & Challenge Desperado (110)

From Stefan:

The 44th Regiment of Foot. The regiment was raised in 1741 and firstly bore the name of its founder Colonel James Long and was originally the 55th regiment of foot. After first employments during the Jacobite Risings of 1745 and the Flanders campaign in 1748 the regiment was renumbered as 44th Regiment of Foot, actually as part of a large reorganization of the British army. A few years later the regiment was brought into action during the French Indian War where it fought in important battles like the Battle of Carillon, the Braddock Expedition and the famous siege of Fort William Henry. Above all it served in the Battle at La Belle-Familie which the "Bloggers for Charity" want to restage this year at several events to create attention and rise funds for the charity projects "Help for Heroes" and "Men Matters".

For this excellent venture I agreed to paint a unit of redcoats which will represent this heroic regiment. It consists of twelve figures manufactured by AW Miniatures who is establishing a quickly growing 28mm range covering the FIW. Overall the miniatures are very nice. The casting quality is good at most parts although some thin details like the loading stick are damaged on several miniatures. The sculpting is crisp and clear and make it rather easy to distinguish the different parts and layers of the miniatures. Unfortunately a lot of the finer details (especially the lacing) are left out and must be painted on.

The faces are quite good but don't have the excellence and expression the top-notch manufacturers (Perry, Wargames Foundry, Front Rank et al.) usually provide.

As usual I used Vallejo Model Colours and Armypainter Quickshade to paint the figures. My main source for the uniforms was C. E. Franklin's "British Army Uniforms from 1751 to 1783". There I read that officers used to wear waistcoats in their regiment's facing colours. Therefore I decided to give them that individual blot of paint. This time I didn't base the figures because James and Andrew preferred to do that themselves.

Next is a unit of eight Viking Bondi for my SAGA warband. All eight figures are metal ones from Gripping Beast's SAGA range. Some of them look slightly old fashioned and stiff but altogether they are really good. 

As most SAGA miniatures I know so far these Bondi have open hands to glue the weapons in. Most of mine got spears this way. But I used steel wire spears rather then the leaden ones provided by Gripping Beast. Absolutely outstanding are their faces which make it easy to bring out some expression.

As usual I painted the figures with Vallejo Model Colours and shaded them with Armypainter Quickshade (Dark Tone). The fine artworks on the shield are decals from Stephen Hales' Little Big Men Studios. For the bases I used my habitual combination of sand, static grass and tufts.

And so it ends... As my last entry I proudly present: The Cowboy.

The miniature is from Wargames Foundry and actually his name is "Lonesome Dexter" from the "This town ain't big enough". But this time he shall represent one of the countless cowboys immortalized in Sam Peckinpah's movies. Curt asked for such an act of appreciation and I hope my humble work bestows honour to his concern.

This fellow was the first Wild West figure I ever painted. And it was great fun. It is well detailed and sculpting as well as casting are of top-notch quality as usual for Wargames Foundry. Once again I employed Vallejo's Model Colour range to paint it but skipped Quickshade this time because I didn't have the time to let it dry long enough. To give the miniature a little special 'something' I didn't only decorate the top of the base but the bottom as well.

Well then, Curt, this one's for you. Many thanks for organizing this year's painting challenge. It was great fun to participate and I enjoyed the company of all those excellent painters and modellers a lot. Additionally those three months let me learn a lot about my very own way of painting and pushed my skills forward. It was an honour to see my humble work presented alongside the pieces of art our fellow competitors submitted. For next winter I'll definitely reserve a time slot for the next painting challenge hoping to snatch a slot again. I hope you like this little sign of appreciation. 

Stefan, this is beautiful work, all of it.  I'm sure whoever receives your AWI figures from the 'Bloggers for Charity' event will be absolutely delighted with their 'score'.

Your bondi certainly look the business - I'm particularly taken with the colour detail on their jerkins and trousers. Beautiful.

Finally, I give my humble thank you for the wonderful cowboy figure you've painted as my Challenge 'levy' (or 'Curtgeld' as some have now called it). I really like his grey hair and his jersey chaps are an excellent choice (great pattern). Also, the Challenge banner on the bottom is pure class. Thanks again!

This wonderful assortment of miniatures will give Stefan 110 points, with a bit extra for the chaps! This will be enough for Stefan to exceed his Challenge target of 600 points. Congratulations on pushing through to the finish! 

It's been a pleasure Stefan, I'm delighted you could join us in this little bit of winter madness.

From AndrewS: 28mm F&IW Coureur des Bois & Huron Indian Allies (100 points)

From Andrew:

This submission is 14 Coureur Des Bois and 6 Huron Indians all from the AW miniatures range. 

The Coureur Des Bois are a very nice set of figures from this range with a good variety of equipment on the men, the only downside is there are only three poses available. 

However with some different coloured clothing and ensuring that they are well mixed, I have managed to make the whole force look as I hoped.

Last up the Hurons are nice sculpts and there are a wide variety of poses available, only one figure in my opinion has issues due to its separate arms that can only be put in one position, and a lot of work has then to be done with green stuff to make them fit properly. 

Although warpaint comes in handy to disguise any issues. I have liberally applied a red and black colour scheme to the warpaint. I really enjoy painting these Indians as my research has shown that they used a wide range of colours so it does allow me some freedom as a painter to go with the flow.

Beautiful work Andrew. I like that you made each and every figure distinct, either by varying pose or through use of colour. While the French frontiersmen are great I have to say that your Hurons, resplendent in their fierce warpaint, are my favourites in this submission. Wonderful figures.

These warriors of the forest will give Andrew 100 points. Well done!

From SebG: 28mm AWI British 44th Foot Light Infantry (23 points)

From Seb:

What you have here are six 28mm British light infantry from AW miniatures.

You'll have to excuse the poor quality pictures, but my parents' PC refuses to acknowledge the existence of my camera's SD card, and of course I forgot to take the USB cable... When Andrew (Loki) and James launched their Bloggers for Charity project, I was immediately interested. They intend to game a battle during the Seven Years War in Canada. I have offered my services and Andrew sent me these figures to paint as a light detachment of the 44th Abercrombie. I was delighted since I knew i could then practice on my red and flesh techniques for 28mm.

Sadly, the minis are not great. There was no flash but you can find some errors in the sculpting, such as the cartridge box but no belt to carry it !?!  And some cuffs and hands are miscast. Ah well. Still they were easy to paint.

I haven't based them because as soon as James receives them, he'll do it. So that's it. 6 more miniatures done from me.

Seb, the photo effects are actually kinda neat. These shots give the impression that the camera was last used to film Sophia Loren or Catherine Deneuve - a dab of vaseline on the lens does miracles.  Seriously, very nice work here Seb - I quite like your flesh tones and that deep yellow facing colour is excellent as well.

These half dozen hearty fellows will give Seb 23 points. Well done and bravo for contributing to a good cause.

From RayR: 28mm F&IW French Infantry - Royal Rousillon Regiment (45 points)

From Ray:

My 8th entry into Curt's Challenge are the 12 figures I volunteered to paint up for Bloggers For Charity.

They're from AW Minis. They represent the French Line regt Royal Rousillon. Lots of the other painters had trouble with the figures, there was a lot of flash on them, but apart from that I thought they were fine?

These are nice figures for a good cause Ray. Well done. 

These French infantry of Rousillon will give M. Rousell 45 well-earned points. 

From AndrewS: 28mm French & Indian Wars Infantry and Marines (98 points)

Andrew shifts gears back to the 18th century with these wonderfully painted French & Indian Wars infantry.

From Andrew:

The next batch of this weeks submissions are 13 French Infantry from the AW Miniatures range these are part of a fairly substantial commission I have agreed to complete and 6 Marines that I agreed  to paint for AW Miniatures display board. 

The infantry represent the Bearn Regiment, wearing the white jackets while on campaign in the French Indian wars, they are in a mix of uniform as befits the adaptations made by the men in this period. The standard bearer is carrying a hand painted colour made by myself as a little extra for the client.

The marines, well I don't have much to say about these at all, they were a complete pain in the arse to paint and I am truly glad they are done.

Beautiful work Andrew. I like the mixed nature of their uniforms and that hand-painted banner is lovely. 

These lads from Bearn and beyond will give Andrew 98 points.

From PhilH: 28mm Coureur de Bois and Explosions (30 points)

From Phil:

This week, I also took a step back from Victoriana to submit my contribution to the Bloggers for Charity project started by James and Andrew. I hope that they will be put to good use. 

These were a bit of a slog for me as I'm unaccustomed to painting irregulars in an efficient way, but I'm glad to have them finished in time to be based with everyone else's fine contributions. The fine sculpts by AW Miniatures took the paint well and have well-defined detail, though I feel they are in the classic style, with larger hands and weapons akin to some Artizan sculpts I've painted.  

I also offer a recent side-project - explosions and subsequent craters that I've been working on. The explosions are made using the classic wire frame and clump foliage stuck on with a hot glue gun (note - this uses a lot of glue!). Sprayed black, then lightly with white. I inadvertently started using a nearly empty can of white that was spitting blobs of paint, then dusted them with a new can to neaten them a little. I do like the end result as the larger blobs go e the effect of debris. The craters are resin offerings from Warlord Games. 

The nonchalant German was painted last year and is only included for scale. These five markers will be endlessly useful, to note shock in Black Powder (the smaller ones preferably) and pinned units in Chain of Command, or just to add flavour to in game photos. 

Very nice work all around Phil. The Coureur d Bois are great - suitably varied and rustic. I'm sure whomever gets these will be delighted with them. 

The explosion markers are brilliant. I have something similar but I think I will redo mine with your hot glue idea as it sounds more resilient to tabletop accidents. Unfortunately these are not eligible for scoring as I consider them to be terrain... (I know: Boo!! Hiss!!)

These hearty 'Runners of the Woods' will give Phil 30 points. 

From FranL: 28mm F&IW French Regiment Languedoc & 15mm Modern British Platoon (143 points)

We can't have a Ray submission without one from Francis, and so like magic...

Here is is a 28mm FIW French "Languedoc" Regiment consisting of 12 figures from AW Miniatures for my Bloggers for Charity submission, a few issues with the figures but they should be alright once based in a unit (not allowed to base them as they are being based all in one go) with a nice flag!

The 5th,6th and last picture are of a 15mm modern British platoon with extras from Old Glory. 

Most of these figures came from my Secret Santa and should have some "Viking" vehicles to transport them soon.

Great work Fran! I must say it's kinda wild seeing you paint Horse & Musket figures - you've done a great job on them. Could these entice you into a new period perhaps? Of course your modern stuff is always top notch. I look forward to seeing the upcoming rides for these lads.

The Regiment Languedoc and this modern British infantry platoon will give Fran 143 points. Well done Mr. Lee! 

From AndrewS: 28mm French & Indian War French Infantry (60 points)

From Andrew: 

Well having shot through my target in three weeks I have decided to take it a little easier this week.

The first of this weeks submissions are 12 French Infantry from the AW Miniatures range these are part of a fairly substantial commission I have agreed to complete.

I know there are 13 figures in the picture however the officer was completed before the challenge started but he needed basing with his men.

These are substantial 28mm figures in fact they are more the 32mm heroic scale and a couple of the figures needed some plugging with green stuff, looks like a mould defect as a hole runs right through the body and out the bottom of the figure. 

They represent the La Sarre Regiment, wearing the grey white jackets while on campaign in the French Indian wars, they are in a mix of uniform as befits the adaptations made by the men in this period.

Wonderful work Andrew. Those fellows do look well fed but have a nice heft to them, reminding me of the Napoleonic figures from Elite Miniatures.. 

These dozen French from the Sare will give Andrew 60 points. Great job!

From Aaron Hunt: 28mm Rogers' Rangers (32 points)

Aaron shows us his Bloggers for Charity figures, a fine set of Rogers' Rangers.

From Aaron:

These eight models are rangers for my Bloggers for Charity contribution.  They were generously donated by the manufacturer, AW Miniatures, and shipped to me by Loki.  I had started these before the Challenge, but only got as far as painting their faces.  Since I wasn’t all that happy with the primer on a couple of them anyway (it was splotchy/chunky) I stripped the lot and started over. 

I found these to be really hard to paint.  I had to do a lot of research to figure out the uniforms, or whether they were even going to have a uniform appearance.  In the end I decided to paint them up as Roger’s Rangers, since that is the most famous American ranger unit.  My sources seemed to have them in green jackets, but I mixed things up a little bit in other places.  

By and large the castings are very nice but the muskets have some of the oddest flash on them that I’ve ever seen.  Two of these model’s muskets are the worst castings I’ve dealt with in a long time.  I did my best to cover the imperfections with paint but I’m not completely happy with my ability to cover the casting errors.

Now that they are done I’m very happy with them.  Painting these was a bit like free association.  I was just unable to develop a plan so I started slapping paint on until I realized they were done.  Future units will be easier, if I ever get into FIW. 

These are unbased as Loki will be taking care of the basing to ensure a uniform appearance, on that front at any rate.  Loki, if there is anything you want me to change on these, you have a few days until I’ll be able to get them mailed across the pond to you.

Great work Aaron. I think you've done a wonderful job on these fellows especially since it's your first foray into the period (quite like that green you've done).

These eight Rangers will give Aaron 32 points. Nice job!